Memorial Day 2015 - Remember and Honor

As with all the holiday weekends, to most citizens, this is a day for BBQ's and parties. An extra day off to celebrate, relax, be with family, etc. 

To some; those that served and lost a friend, a husband, a wife, a son, or daughter in combat or during training exercises, this day has a different meaning.

I am one of the roughly 7% that has served and look at this day differently. With the Cold War being my conflict for service, I have no buddy or relative killed during my service but, I did have hometown young men friends who came home from Vietnam in flag draped coffins. I think of these men on this day specifically.There were casualties during the Cold War. 

Last week I attended a military retirement ceremony that became an impromptu family reunion. My nephew, John Holovich retired as an Air Force LtCol after 23 years of service. He is an F-15 Eagle driver. Part of the ceremony was to honor a fallen comrade who died in 2014 during a training accident. They had an open seat in front with "Moose's" (his call sign) flight suit displayed on it. A memorial flag was ceremoniously presented to "Moose", in absentia. I was deeply moved by the honor these men and women displayed for their fallen comrade.

I also look at this day with gratitude. Gratitude for all the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. Men like "Moose". May they all rest in peace.

Please Remember and Honor all warriors that gave up their lives so we can be free.

Cold War Freedom - Swords into Plowshares

I read this post by Eric Todd on the American Cold War Veterans Facebook page and just had to share. It truly reflects how I, and maybe thousands of Proud Cold Warriors feel.

"Not too long ago, our family took a little road trip. We visited my son's maternal grandfather's grave at the U.S. cemetery in Salisbury, NC. He was a marine in the Korean war who survived the march up the peninsula and back down. He died a few years before I met his daughter (my wife). My 8 year old son asked "Dad, I see these headstones with the wars they were in. You were in the Cold War, right? Who won?" It just so happened that the previous week, I had taken a look on Google Earth at Augsburg Germany at the location where I had served in the mid-80's (Flak Kaseren) and saw part of it had been turned into a kid's playground. I answered him, "Sam, EVERYBODY won, because we did not end up killing every last person on the planet, though we could have". The sight of the playground, to me, was a wonderful example of swords back into plowshares."

With me being a Navy Squid I have no idea what all this means but when I asked Eric what he did in Germany, his rank, MOS, etc., this is what he shared. I am sure you Army guys understand all this.

SP4 (p), US Army, Augsburg, Germany 1982-1987, MOS 05D, 409th ASA Co/502nd ASA Bn (redesignated as A Co/204th Mi Bn in 1986)

Wow, that is a mouthful compared to I served on the USS whatever!

This is why I started this blog. We Cold Warriors need to share our stories, our thoughts, and our hope that the current and the future generations will stand up and protect the Freedom we protected in our time. The Vets of the '90s carried on, and the Post 9/11 generation has, and still is, during this long and arduous War on Terror. I am so proud of them. God bless and keep them out of harm's way.

Thank you Eric. I could not have written those sentiments better than how you told them to your son that day.

PS: With all this Army in Germany talk in today's post, I decided to share a teaser on an upcoming post. I have completed my reading of the fictional novels, graphic novels, and comic books about Team Yankee in WW3 and will be posting soon. I really enjoyed reading all of it and hopefully can convey a solid review for you all. Watch for it!

The Greatest Killer on the Battlefield

Someone shared this with me on Facebook and I thought it would be a great to pass it on here.

This is for all the Artillerymen out their on the interweb! Enjoy!

I'd give credit where credit is due for whomever produced this art poster but alas, I do not know who did this. The Facebook post said it was from the 1970s. I do not remember which Facebook Group I "borrowed" it from. If anyone knows its origin, please email me or comment below and I'll give proper credit.

55 Years Ago - Cold War Tensions Escalate - U-2 Spy Incident

Francis Gary Powers and a U-2 aircraft

 
On May 1, 1960, the pilot of an American U-2 spyplane was shot down while flying through Soviet airspace. The fallout over the incident resulted in the cancellation of the Paris Summit scheduled to discuss the ongoing situation in divided Germany, the possibility of an arms control and test ban treaty, and the relaxation of tensions between the USSR and the United States.

To read the rest of the story link over to here -  https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/u2-incident

It is an excellent State Department web page on the facts of the Francis Gary Powers U-2 shoot down and its repercussions.

U-2 Wreckage in Moscow

I have had the occasion to communicate with Francis Gary Powers, Jr. concerning my efforts to blog on the Cold War, the Cold War Museum, and the 1960 incident. He has done an very good job of representing his father's legacy and history. You can access his website at the following link - http://garypowers.org/

You can access the Cold War Museum page on the incident here - http://www.coldwar.org/articles/60s/u2_incident.asp

The New York Times Headline on Francis Gary Power's Sentence

Thank you to the U. S. Department of State for allowing me to repost and link to their page on this story.

Thank you to Francis Gary Powers Jr and the Cold War Museum for allowing me to link to their sites.

Photographs courtesy of Google Images.